5 quick and easy ESL games for teaching young learners

Joanna Wiseman
Children running outside together with balloons

Can we play a game? How many times have you been asked this in class? And how often do you say Yes? Young learners love to play games, and if you choose the right ones, they can have a hugely beneficial impact on their learning.

As well as being fun, games can provide learners with necessary language practice, as well as lowering the affective filter (i.e. anxiety, fear, boredom and other negative emotions that can all impact learning). Games also foster a positive, relaxed environment.

So are you ready to play? Here are a few tried and tested games that work especially well in the primary classroom. Each game is designed to consolidate and review the language students have been learning, and take from 5 to 15 minutes. The primary games are flexible enough for you to adapt them to different learner levels, age groups and skills.

Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree ɫèAV can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

1. Keep it!

Card games are easy to prepare and can be used to practice anything - vocabulary, grammar, speaking skills, and so on. Single words, phrases, pictures or questions on cards can prompt students to use new language without realizing it as they are focused on the game itself.

For this card game you will need a set of cards with questions.

Download the game's teaching notes here

2. Hot Potato

In this game, students pass around a ¡°hot potato¡± and answer questions. All you need is a ball (a ball of paper will suffice) and a set of questions or definitions.

Download the game's teaching notes here

3. Roll and Play

Combine all your traditional classroom games into one with this team game to review vocabulary. Students roll the dice to find out what they need to do to help their team members guess the word.

Download the game's teaching notes here

4. Basketball Quiz

A quiz-style game played as a whole class in two teams, this game requires students to work together to answer questions and score points. You only need a whiteboard to play.

Download the game's teaching notes here

5. Board Race

This popular team game can be used to practice spelling, vocabulary and grammar, depending on the level of your students. All you need is a whiteboard, pens and a timer.

Download the game's teaching notes here

Use these games to help liven up the classroom. Feel free to change and alter the rules accordingly to fit with your learners' needs and requirements. Remember that it's important for your young learners to also have fun to ensure they have a positive learning experience and look forward to coming into the classroom.?

More blogs from ɫèAV

  • A teacher sat at a table with students helping them work

    GSE Teacher Toolkit: Teaching mixed ability classes

    By Sara Davila
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    One of the biggest challenges for language teachers is teaching a mixed ability class. Students with different levels and abilities will always be present in our classrooms. So, how can we use the to improve mixed ability teaching? Let¡¯s find out.?

    How to teach mixed-ability classes

    Differentiated instruction is the best way to address the challenges of mixed ability classrooms. This is a method that helps teachers adjust aspects of the curriculum to match the different levels of?students.*?This practice ensures that all learners are meeting course outcomes, even though their learning experience may be varied and?different.

    In order to differentiate instruction and support students with different needs, teachers can change:?

    • the content being taught??
    • the process used to teach??
    • the product students create??
    • the environment where learning takes place

    Adjusting the content tends to be the most obvious way to support learners. So, teachers who want to engage with differentiated instruction in mixed ability classrooms often find themselves producing a lot of content. This is great?as a way to?support learners. However, creating new content or leveling existing content is time-consuming, and it can become a real challenge for teachers.??

    Content vs process

    Instead of adjusting your content, you can use the GSE Teacher Toolkit to adjust your process. When you¡¯re not creating lots of new content, you¡¯ve got more time to consider how to teach new language to your students and how they can show what they¡¯ve learned.?The GSE Teacher Toolkit helps teachers to focus on the process and language production of learners, rather than the content you are teaching.?

    This means less work for you, and more engagement from your students, no matter what their level is. And the GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you understand the skills we can expect students to demonstrate. So how does this work in practice? Let¡¯s?take a look.?

  • Teacher stood at the front of the class writing on a interactive whiteboard

    GSE Teacher Toolkit: Planning a communicative grammar lesson

    By Sara Davila
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Planning grammar lessons with the GSE Teacher Toolkit

    Grammar is one of the core areas of language teaching. Often, new teachers are nervous about teaching it, but sooner or later, all English teachers will have to get to grips with it. Whether you love or hate teaching grammar to your students, the makes planning a successful grammar lesson easier than ever.?

    When it comes to planning a grammar-focused lesson, there are two main strategies to choose from: a communicative approach or a focus-on-form approach. The communicative approach is more commonly used.?

    So, let¡¯s have a look at how the GSE Teacher Toolkit can help you plan a communicative grammar lesson that is effective and engaging for your students.?

    Teaching communicative grammar

    When you¡¯re planning a grammar lesson, you want to be sure there is a reason for students to use the grammar point that you¡¯re going to teach. That way, your students will be more motivated to learn the form and practise using it correctly.?

    Using and applying grammar generally requires producing something. That¡¯s why grammar, as an enabling skill, is often aligned to speaking and writing, the productive skills. When you want your students to use or produce a particular grammar form, you can begin by looking for the associated skills in speaking and writing.?

    Choosing a skill to teach

    Imagine that you have a class that is learning at an A2 level (35 - 40 on the GSE range). You¡¯ll want to help them work towards A2+/B1. So, it¡¯s a good idea to plan lessons around skills that are in your target GSE range to push their progress.?

    In order to plan an A2+ range speaking class, you can filter the GSE Teacher Toolkit to look in your target learning range for specific skills to teach:?

  • Students sat at a desk looking at a textbook together, with a teacher pointing to it

    Real-world English: How GSE Job Profiles bridge learning and work

    By Sara Davila
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Did you know that improving your English proficiency can increase earning potential by up to 50% and safeguard your career against AI? Recent research by ɫèAV highlights that English is not just a skill but a career-defining advantage in today¡¯s globalized workplace. For millions of adult learners, the journey from the classroom to the workplace requires more than general conversational abilities¡ªit¡¯s about gaining targeted, job-ready skills as quickly as possible. For English language educators, understanding what ¡°Âá´Ç²ú-°ù±ð²¹»å²â¡± English is and how to identify ¡°Âá´Ç²ú-°ù±ð²¹»å²â¡± skills can provide a significant advantage in ensuring learners are prepared to communicate effectively and collaborate with their future coworkers.

    That¡¯s where the Global Scale of English (GSE) Job Profiles comes in. For educators and program developers, it offers a bridge between real-world job skills and the English learners need to perform them. Whether you¡¯re creating programs for nursing assistants, hospitality workers, or IT professionals, this tool ensures that learners build the precise English skills they need to thrive in their roles.

    Let¡¯s walk through how to create a GSE Job Profile and explore its practical use for building programs that align with today¡¯s professional realities.